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Microsoft Dock Results

OP
MickeyLittle

MickeyLittle

Active Member
I don't see any reason you couldn't leave it plugged in. In my case, it was plugged in and turned off. When it reached full charge the charge light turned off. In the other case the Surface was turned on and the light stayed on.
It probably stays in continuous charge when the Surface is running. Either way, you were concerned about overcharging and that's not going to be a problem.

I'm not sure about that as I'm using my Surface Pro for a solid 8-10 hours a day right now but it is only on charge around 4-5 hours. If I go with this dock it will be getting some type of charge all 8-10 hours. Over the course of a year that might make a difference.
 

be77solo

Active Member
I'm not sure about that as I'm using my Surface Pro for a solid 8-10 hours a day right now but it is only on charge around 4-5 hours. If I go with this dock it will be getting some type of charge all 8-10 hours. Over the course of a year that might make a difference.
My SP2 doesn't keep charging when plugged in... it often says "Plugged In 97%, Not Charging" for example. I personally don't worry about keeping it plugged in while at desk for this reason, as it's not constantly charging anyway. This is without dock, I'm sure with dock it behaves the same.

For comparison, all my laptops from the last few years have worked the same way without issue.
 

Nuspieds

Active Member
My SP2 doesn't keep charging when plugged in... it often says "Plugged In 97%, Not Charging" for example. I personally don't worry about keeping it plugged in while at desk for this reason, as it's not constantly charging anyway. This is without dock, I'm sure with dock it behaves the same.

For comparison, all my laptops from the last few years have worked the same way without issue.
I know exactly what you mean; I do not place any faith in the Windows battery meter whatsoever.

No matter the version of Windows, on several laptops, I'd experience a similar max of just under 100% when plugged in forever one day, then the next day--or even later the same day--when re-plugged, it would go to 100%. It has been completely inconsistent for me.

But, although I don't have the SP dock, I do have both the SP1 and SP2 and several redundant AC chargers for my various locations (e.g., office, bedroom, living room, travel bag, etc.) and the light never goes out on any of the chargers.
 

Rudy

New Member
My first dock failed after three or four days. My second has been going for several weeks. The exchange process at the microsoft store was slow and annoying. I want to avoid shopping there in the future.

The dock makes three connections, power, video, and USB. I think of it as a USB hub with built-in USB ethernet and USB audio peripherals. All the data connectivity is through the single USB port. When I first purchased, I imagined there was an additional proprietary data bus connection, but I sure don't see any such thing. I've never studied USB benchmarks, but my suspicion is that the USB wouldn't sustain gigabit ether speeds.

There may be some cleverness going on in the hub. With a TekRepublic USB-3 hub acting in place of the docking station. I would notice jerky USB-2 mouse motions during external USB-3 jump drive activity. Haven't noticed that with the docking station. [But also possible I'm just not using controlled test conditions.]

I've always purchased laptops with docking stations. I like the convenience. They always seem expensive for what you get. Wish this one was cheaper. Bought it anyway. Don't regret buying it when it works.
 

Philtastic

Active Member
I'm not sure about that as I'm using my Surface Pro for a solid 8-10 hours a day right now but it is only on charge around 4-5 hours. If I go with this dock it will be getting some type of charge all 8-10 hours. Over the course of a year that might make a difference.

What you describe of overcharging has generally not been a problem for about a decade at least... or you are talking about what I'm going to call "microcharging" where, as a battery sits in a device, it discharges a tiny bit over time which will then be recharged, thus inducing many many tiny recharges which add up to many full charge cycles which degrades your battery over a year. This is what kills laptop batteries if you are almost always plugged in but leave your battery in, thus the recommendation that you remove your laptop battery if you don't need it. I should note that what kills batteries these days is, basically, how much your battery has been charged, often referred to as full charge cycles.

This advice changes, however, when you cannot remove the battery. If you cannot remove the battery, it is better to have this microcharging happening rather than ACTUALLY draining the battery by running off of it since you will go through far more full charge cycles by constantly using your battery all day, thus degrade it faster. This is why it is recommended that, if you can, always plug in your phones or ultrabooks/tablets since that will actually extend the life of your battery due to less full charge cycles.

Some basic information about lithium ion batteries can be found here:
https://www.apple.com/ca/batteries/

I should also mention that there is no memory effect with lithium ion, thus it is always better to have it charging while using. There can be some subtlety to this (eg. the battery works most optimally at some value, possibly between 50-60% charged I think, and at some temperature) but, for most people, just leaving it plugged in when you're using it as a rule is basically optimal.
 
I too was looking at the dock. I am redoing my basement (did it without permits 4 years ago... wife wants permits.. inspectors not happy... need to redo some anyway.. u get the drill but that is for another thread) and when done I want to replace my q6600 desktop with my SP2 with a dock to attach to my monitors. i only have one right now.. but plan on running 2 and game, edit photos on it.
the 100mb is something I cannot overlook. I use very large video files and pictures copying and editing from my server and gigabit is just so much faster. I am going to have to look at the alternatives when I am ready because the 100mb is not even thinkable for me....

cmon M$... you did a great job on this puppy and now you do stuff like this!!!!!!
 
OP
MickeyLittle

MickeyLittle

Active Member
I too was looking at the dock. I am redoing my basement (did it without permits 4 years ago... wife wants permits.. inspectors not happy... need to redo some anyway.. u get the drill but that is for another thread) and when done I want to replace my q6600 desktop with my SP2 with a dock to attach to my monitors. i only have one right now.. but plan on running 2 and game, edit photos on it.
the 100mb is something I cannot overlook. I use very large video files and pictures copying and editing from my server and gigabit is just so much faster. I am going to have to look at the alternatives when I am ready because the 100mb is not even thinkable for me....

cmon M$... you did a great job on this puppy and now you do stuff like this!!!!!!

Alternative Found... Amazon.com : Plugable UD-3900 USB 3.0 Universal Docking Station with Dual Video Outputs for Windows 8.1, 8, 7, XP (HDMI and DVI/ VGA to 2048x1152, Gigabit Ethernet, Audio, 2 USB 3.0 Ports, 4 USB 2.0 Ports, 4A AC Power Adapter) : Laptop Computer Docki

This is the one that I'm probably going with. Toshiba has one for $22 more and it looks the same to me except that there are (4) 3.0 USB ports instead of the (2) offered on the UD-3900. Tough call... http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Dynad...9&sr=8-1&keywords=toshiba+usb+docking+station
 
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